NBA says no rules broken in Simmons-Johnson meeting request

Tuesday

NEW YORK — The NBA says Los Angeles Lakers president Magic Johnson did not break any league tampering rules when he spoke about Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons earlier this week.

The NBA’s relatively quick-moving investigation was initiated after it was revealed that Simmons wanted to meet with Johnson to talk about the art of being an elite point guard. Johnson complimented Simmons publicly on Sunday.

"I love his game. I love his vision," Johnson said.

But since that was in response to a media inquiry, the NBA says Johnson was permitted to make such comments.

"We have concluded that Magic Johnson’s statements regarding Ben Simmons do not constitute a tampering violation," the league said. "The Philadelphia 76ers initiated the contact with the Los Angeles Lakers by requesting a meeting between Johnson and Simmons. Both organizations ultimately concluded that such a meeting did not make sense at this time but in that context, Johnson’s response to a media inquiry regarding Simmons does not run afoul of league rules."

The Lakers have been fined for tampering violations twice since 2017, those violations costing the team a combined $550,000.

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